THE  CHRISTIAN  MERCHANT. 


REY.  ME.  BELLOWS'  DISCOURSE, 

ON"    OCCA.SIOX    OF   THE    DEATH    OP 

JONATHAN   GOODHUE. 


it    «^ii-^: 


California 

jgional 

,cility 


1 


UCSB    LIBRARy 


THE   CHRISTIAN  MERCHANT 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  witii  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


littp://www.arcliive.org/details/cliristianmerclianOObelliala 


Qi\)c   (El)ri8tian   ilU reliant, 


DISCOURSE: 


DELIVERED 


IN    THE    CHURCH    OF    THE    DIVINE    UNITY, 


ON    OCCASION    OF    THE    DEATH    OF 


JONATHAN    GOODHUE 


B  Y 

HENRY    W .    B  E  L  I.  O  W  S , 

TASTOB   OF   THE    CUDRCH. 


rUBLlSHKD    BY   REQUEST   OF   THE   CONGREGATION. 


NEW    YORK: 

C.    S.    FRANCIS    &    CO.,  2  52    BROADWAY 

18  4  8. 


JOHN   WESTALL,   PBINTBB. 


DISCOURSE. 


PROVERBS  II.  20. 

THAT    THOU    MAYEST    WALK    IN     THE    WAT    OF   GOOD    MEN,    AND    KEEP    THE    PATHS 
OF    THE    RIGHTEOUS. 

Christianity  suffers  from  nothing  so  much  as  from 
the  want  of  examples.  The  great  argument  which 
men  have  against  it,  is  its  impracticableness.  While 
its  advocates  are  unable  to  put  their  hands  upon 
shining  illustrations  of  its  power  and  spirit,  they  want 
both  the  means  of  exemplifying  its  doctrine  and 
precepts,  and  of  confounding  the  skepticism  which 
deems  it  visionary.  It  was  the  life  of  Christ  that 
originally  gave  authority  to  his  teachings,  and  the 
Gospel  owed  its  magnificent  and  rapid  triumphs  during 
the  first  century  to  the  self-denying,  consistent  and 
holy  lives  of  its  confessors  and  martyrs.  The  cause 
of  religion  has  been  sustained  in  the  world  since, 
mainly  by  the  testimony  of  the  faithful  few  who  have 
borne  its  divine  fruits  in  their  life  and  conversation. 
Every  resuscitation  of  its  languishing  interests  has 
come  in  the  form  of  a  quickened  spirit  of  obedience. 
The  periods  of  infidelity  have  been  seasons  when 
luxury,  pride  and  sloth,  when  prosperity,  or  war,  when 
worldliness  in  some  shape  has  dimmed  the  virtue  of  its 


professors,  and  thus  obscured  the  only  evidence  which 
is  practically  potent  and  unanswerable. 

A  common  and  favorite  form  of  evading  the  demands 
of  the  Gospel,  is  to  maintain  their  incompatibility  with 
the  necessary  conditions  of  human  life.  Under  other 
and  more  favorable  circumstances,  we  inwardly  reason, 
the  Christian  hfe  might  be  possible ;  and  under  almost 
any  others  than  those  beneath  which  we  ourselves 
are  struggling,  less  difficult ;  while  our  ow  n  providential 
lot  seems  directly  hostile  to,  if  not  absolutely  irre- 
concileable  with,  the  spirit  and  conduct  required  by 
Christ.  Nothing  but  examples  of  the  Christian  life, 
under  all  varieties  of  circumstance,  and  amid  the  most 
trying  and  disadvantageous  scenes,  can  adequately 
silence  objections  hke  these.  The  world  needs  to  see 
men  springing  up  in  its  busiest  and  most  exposed  paths, 
walking  amid  the  flames  of  its  most  devouring  passions, 
handling  its  most  seductive  and  betraying  objects,  in 
contact  with  its  most  poisonous  evils,  and  yet  main- 
taining there,  principles  which  are  above  the  sphere 
in  which  they  move — aims  that  stoop  not  to  the  level 
on  which  they  stand ;  a  purity  that  is  not  to  be 
c(mtaminated ;  a  character  above  suspicion  or  reproach. 

In  a  community  like  ours,  there  is  especial  danger 
that  the  Christian  standard  will  decline,  and  with  it 
the  confidence  of  the  public  in  the  reality  of  Christian 
faith  and  virtue.  We  live  confessedly  in  the  midst 
of  great  temptations  and  seductions.  There  is  nothing, 
perhaps,  concerning  which  men  doubt  each  other  more 
than  in  regard  to  their  power  to  withstand  the  temp- 
tation of  money.  That  "  every  man  has  his  price," 
is  a  received  maxim  of  terrible  import,  whose  practical 


disproof  concerns  the  interests,  and  even  the  credibility 
of  the  Gospel,  more  than  tongue  can  tell.  It  is  to  this 
"  trial  by  gold,"  that  we  are  called  in  this  commercial 
metropolis :  a  trial  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  old 
trial  by  fire.  Amid  the  competitions  and  collisions  of 
mercantile  enterprise,  pressed  by  the  necessity  and 
the  difficulty  of  speedily  succeeding,  in  order  to  main- 
tain the  expensive  position  here  assumed ;  surrounded 
by  examples  of  crowds,  whose  confessed  and  only 
object  is  accumulation ;  supported  in  lax  practices  by 
the  maxims  of  the  careless;  tempted  now  by  the 
glittering  prizes  of  rapid  success,  and  then  by  the 
imminent  perils  of  sudden  failure :  excited  by  the  tri- 
umphant speculations  of  the  adventurous,  and  dazzled 
by  the  social  splendors  of  the  prosperous ;  conversant 
all  the  day  long,  for  at  least  six  days  in  the  week, 
with  the  plans  and  projects,  the  conversation  and  spirit 
of  money-making,  what  wonder  is  it,  that  riches  come 
to  stand  for  the  principal  thing,  and  that  the  laws  and 
spirit  of  Christian  virtue  are  so  often  found  to  be 
withes  of  straw  in  the  fires  of  worldly  ambition  and 
business  enterprise  1 

What  we  particularly  need,  then,  is  the  example  of 
men  who  are  thrown  into  the  hottest  part  of  this 
furnace,  and  yet  come  out  unscathed !  Men  who 
enter  into  the  arena  of  business,  seek  its  rewards, 
wrestle  with  its  competitors,  experience  its  temptations, 
taste  its  disappointments  and  its  successes,  its  anxieties, 
and  its  gratifications ;  pass  through  its  crises  of  panic, 
and  of  bubble-prosperity,  and  yet  through  all,  uphold 
a  character  and  reputation  for  unspotted  honor  and 
integrity,    for    equanimity    and    moderation,    and    for 


qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  to  which  worldly  success 
is  manifestly  and  completely  subordinated.  The  world 
may  well  be  suspicious  of  an  untried  virtue ;  of  the 
worth  of  an  integrity  which  sustains  itself  in  seclusion, 
and  never  measures  its  strength  with  the  temptations 
of  life ;  of  a  professional  goodness,  which  is  hedged 
about  by  the  restrictions  of  public  opinion  ;  of  a  talking 
piety,  that  mistakes  the  glow  of  beautiful  and  exalted 
sentiments  for  the  earnestness  and  vigor  of  moral 
principle ;  of  the  graces  which  merely  reflect  the 
circumstances  that  surround  them ;  as  for  instance,  the 
humility  of  the  low  in  station,  the  amiableness  of  those 
whose  natural  temperament  is  equable,  the  self-control 
of  the  unimpassioned,  or  moderation  of  desires  in  those 
who  are  without  opportunity  or  hope  of  advancement 
What  we  need  to  confirm  our  faith  in  virtue,  to  reprove 
and  stimulate  our  consciences,  is  to  see  the  triumph  of 
tempted  integrity,  the  victory  of  a  spirit  that  feels  the 
force  of  the  passions  and  desires  that  agitate  our  own 
hearts,  and  yet  controls  them ;  that  is  subjected  to  our 
own  trying  circumstances,  and  turns  them  to  the 
account  of  goodness. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  hear  men,  as  it  were, 
fortifying  their  own  moral  resolution  by  assailing  the 
ordinary  objects  of  human  desire ;  denying  the  desi- 
rableness of  fortune  ;  charging  the  necessary  principles 
on  which  business  is  conducted  with  intrinsic  immo- 
raUty,  and  attributing  to  wealth  itself  all  the  evils  which 
come  from  tlie  passionate  "love  of  money."  When 
these  words  proceed  from  the  mouths  of  the  unsuc- 
cessful, or  from  those  withdrawn  from  the  walks  of 
trade,    they  indicate    a  very  suspicious    kind    of  past 


experience,  and  a  very  doubtful  sort  of  un world liness. 
The  truth  is,  the  business  of  this  world  must  be  carried 
on,   and   there   must    be   commercial   centres,   where 
wealth,  with  all  its  responsibilities,  perils  and  advan- 
tages, will  be  concentrated.     Merchants,  in  the  largest 
use  of  that  word,  are  a  necessary  and  most  important 
class — a  jfixed,  indispensable,  and  permanent  class — in 
the  divisions  of  society.     There  is  no  prospect  what- 
soever that  the  pressure  of  care,   the  competitions  of 
trade,  the  increase  of  wealth,  or  the  growth  of  private 
fortunes,  will  diminish  in  a  place  like  this.     Just  here, 
this  work  which  you   are  doing,  is   to  be  done — will 
remain  to  be  done !  and  you  and  your  successors  will 
be  subjected  to  whatsoever  dangers  and  disadvantages 
to  the  moral   nature  belong   to  it.     It  by  no   means 
follows   because  a   post  is  dangerous  that  it  is  to  be 
deserted,  or  that  it  is  wrong  to  occupy  it !     It  by  no 
means  is    true  that  things  are  unimportant  or   to  be 
dispensed   with,   because    they    are    morally    perilous. 
Commerce  is  dangerous  precisely  because  of  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  interests  involved  in  it.     Money  is  "peril- 
ous stujff,"  just  because  it  is  the  representative  of  all 
other   physical   and   of  much   intellectual    and    moral 
value.       This    community   of    business    interests   and 
business   men   is    a   dangerous   and  difficult   place    to 
dwell  in,  because  those  exclusively  occupied  in  dealing 
with  that,  which  most  nearly  and  universally  touches 
the  present  welfare  and  immediate  necessities  of  mil- 
lions,  feel    the   passions    and    wants    of    the    nation 
pressing  back  upon  them,  and  shaking  with  convulsive 
energy  the  nerves  which  they  themselves  are.     You 
feel   here,  in   the  commercial   heart   of   this    country, 
2 


10 

die  heat  and  passion  of  the  whole  body.  You  fulfil 
an  indispensable  function.  It  is  a  dangerous  one. 
The  fireman  who  feeds  the  furnace  of  the  steam- 
engine  is  exposed  to  certain  death  if  the  boiler  burst ; 
but  he  is  the  last  man  that  can  be  withdrawn  from 
his  post.  Let  it  be  understood  that  the  merchant 
occupies  a  post  of  peril ;  that  he  handles  a  most 
dangerous  substance ;  that  he  is,  of  all  men,  most 
exposed  to  the  evils  of  worldliness ;  that  his  principles 
are  destined  to  fearful  trial ;  that  he  is  to  live  in 
constant  excitement,  with  anxiety,  hope,  fear,  adven- 
ture, risk,  as  his  stormy  element ;  that  mercantile 
misfortune  has  its  imminent  moral  perils,  and  com- 
mercial success  equal  and  peculiar  dangers !  Let 
the  merchant  understand  that  he  places  himself,  for 
the  sake  of  certain  valuable  and  not  unworthy  consi- 
derations, in  a  position  in  which  he  is  to  expect  little 
tranquillity  of  mind ;  small  control  of  his  own  time, 
and  little  direct  opportunity  for  cultivating  tastes 
and  pursuits  usually  regarded  as  protective  to  the 
moral  nature.  Let  him  understand  that  he  is,  more 
than  any  other  man,  to  deal  directly  with  what  is,  by 
general  consent,  the  most  seductive,  exciting,  and 
treacherous  commodity  in  the  world ;  that  which  most 
tempts  integrity,  moves  the  baser  passions,  absorbs  the 
faculties,  chills  the  humane  affections,  and  dulls  the 
spiritual  senses :  that  which  was  the  object  of  our 
Master's  most  emphatic  warning.  But  let  him,  at  tlie 
same  time,  recognize  the  Christian  lawfulness  and 
providential  importance  of  his  calling,  and  appreciate 
the  force  of  the  trutli  that  the  possible  moral  advan- 
tages of  a  position  are  proportioned  to  its  moral  perils, 


11 

so  that  no  man's  opportunities  of  forming  and  exem- 
plifying the  Christian  character  in  some  of  its  most 
commanding  attributes,  are  so  great  as  those  of  the 
merchant.  In  no  man  is  superiority  to  worldUness 
so  much  honored ;  no  man's  integrity  is  so  widely 
known  or  so  much  venerated !  Honor,  uprightness, 
brotherly  kindness,  purity  and  singleness  of  purpose, 
moderation  and  essential  superiority  to  worldly  maxims 
and  ambitions — these  quahties,  if  they  exist  in  the 
merchant  at  all,  exist  in  him  in  spite  of  daily  trials 
and  temptations.  If  any  man's  principles  require  to 
be  sound  to  the  core,  it  is  his.  They  do  not  exist 
by  the  forbearance  or  fehcity  of  circumstances.  They 
are  not  passive  graces.  They  need  to  be  positive, 
active,  aggressive  qualities ;  opposing  to  the  perils  and 
assaults  of  his  circumstances  a  rugged  and  stern  resist- 
ance. As  such  they  are  recognized  and  honored ; 
and  no  man  occupies  a  more  commanding  moral 
position,  displays  a  more  useful  character,  or  wins  a 
more  sincere  and  compulsory  reverence,  than  the  Chris- 
tian Merchant !  And  what  does  the  community  need 
so  much,  what  can  it  so  ill  spare,  as  the  example  of 
such  men  ? 

My  brethren,  we  have  had  such  an  example  before 
us,  in  a  distinguished  merchant  of  this  community, 
and  an  honored  member  of  this  Christian  Society, 
recently  departed  from  among  the  living.  The  wide 
commentary  which  the  character  of  Jonathan  Goodhue 
has  drawn  from  the  press,  makes  it  too  late  to  pay 
any  original  tribute  to  his  virtues,  as  it  removes  the 
apprehension  of  offending  the  delicacy  of  kindred  and 
friends  by  public  notice.     Yet  it  is  due  to  ourselves 


12 

not  to  allow  the  grave  to  close  upon  so  respected 
and  beloved  a  member  of  our  Society,  witliout  a 
special  commemoration,  for  our  own  benefit,  of  his 
upright  and  benevolent  hfe.  Let  the  characteristic 
modesty  and  moderation  of  the  man  we  contemplate, 
be  honored  in  the  chastened  hues  in  which  we  deli- 
neate his  moral  features. 

Jonathan  Goodhue,  the  son  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin 
Goodhue,  Senator  from  Massachusetts,  came  to  this 
city  about  forty  years  ago,  and  entered  upon  mer- 
cantile life.  The  public  know  him  only  as  a  Merchant 
He  has  filled  no  political  offices,  nor  made  himself 
conspicuous  in  any  philanthropic  causes.  He  has 
originated  no  large  and  striking  speculations,  nor  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  brilUant  success.  Except  in  his 
commercial  capacity,  we  have  not  been  accustomed 
to  hear  his  name  in  the  mouth  of  the  public,  nor  to 
see  it  in  the  columns  of  our  newspapers.  No  man's 
life  had  fewer  incidents  of  an  exciting  character,  or 
offers  more  meagre  matter  for  the  biographer.  We 
have  not  seen  him  in  attitudes  of  trial  or  temptation 
pccuUar  to  himself,  or  in  crises  fitted  to  call  fortli  the 
public  sympathy  and  to  arrest  the  public  attention.  He 
is  identified  with  no  special  movements,  whether  civil, 
commercial,  or  philanthropic,  that  might  give  lustre 
to  his  name.  His  life  has  been  as  private  as  an 
extensive  business  would  allow ;  his  career  as  ordinary 
and  common-place  in  its  history  as  any  man's  among 
us  of  sunilar  age  and  commercial  relations.  He  is 
but  one  among  a  thousand  in  our  community  of  equal 
wealth,  similar  connexions  in  business,  and  like  rela- 
tions with  the  public.     Indeed,  more  than  almost  any 


13 

other    citizen    of  similar   intelligence,  experience   and 
standing,  might  he  be  styled  a  private  person. 

Why  then  is  it,  that  with  an  almost  unequalled 
demonstration  of  sorrow  and  bereavement,  this  com- 
munity gathers  about  his  grave,  and  testifies,  in  the 
sincerest  and  heartiest  forms,  its  reverence  and  love  1 
Whence  this  burst  of  admiration,  respect  and  affection, 
coming  simultaneously  from  every  portion  of  the  public ; 
uttered  through  the  resolutions  of  commercial  bodies ; 
speaking  from  the  lips  of  the  press ;  and,  above  all, 
falling  in  tones  of  tenderness  from  private  tongues  in 
all  classes  of  society  ?  It  is  as  if  every  one  had  lost  a 
friend,  a  guide,  an  example ;  one  whom  he  is  surprised 
to  find  has  been  equally  the  object  of  respect  and 
affection  to  ten  thousand  others !  No  concert  of  action, 
no  mutual  understanding,  has  marked  this  expression 
of  public  feeling !  We  hardly  knew  that  we  had  a 
man  among  us  in  whom  such  regards  united ;  and 
no  one  beforehand  could  have  predicted  the  impression 
his  death  would  make  upon  the  community.  He  filled 
so  quiet,  so  unobtrusive,  and  so  steady  a  place  among 
us,  that  our  thoughts  were  never  directly  or  abruptly 
fixed  upon  him.  We  felt,  we  knew,  his  worth  and 
his  influence ;  but  we  did  not  make  it  the  frequent 
theme  of  our  remark,  nor  weigh  it  against  that  of 
others ;  and  therefore,  I  repeat,  we  ^re  almost  taken 
by  surprise,  when  forced,  by  general  testimony,  to 
acknowledge  that  no  man  could  be  taken  from  this 
community  amid  such  general  regrets,  possessing  such 
universal  confidence,  or  filling  a  larger  place  in  its 
affections  and  respect. 


14 

My  brethren,  it  is  the  recognized  worth   of  private 
character  which  lias  extorted  this  homage  !     It  is  not 
w  hat  he  has  done,  but  what  he  has  been,  which  thus 
attracts  the  gratitude  and  respect  of  this  connnunity. 
Jonathan  Goodhue  had  succeeded,  during  a  long  and 
active  Hfe  of  business,  in  which  he  became  known  to 
ahnost  all  our   people  through   the  ordinary  relations 
of  trade  and   connnerce,  in  impressing    them  with  a 
deep  and  unquestioning  sense  of  his  personal  integrity 
and  essential  goodness.     Collecting  its  evidence  from 
a  thousand  untraceable  sources,  from  tlie  unconscious 
notice  of  his   uniform    and    consistent   life,    from   the 
indirect  testimony   of  the  tliousands  who  dealt  with 
him,    from    personal   observation,    and    from    the  very 
countenance  and  manners  of  the  man,  this  community 
had    become    penetrated   with   tlie    conviction   of  his 
changeless  virtue,  of  his  spotless  honor,  of  his  secret 
and  thorough  worth.       Other  men  might  have  equal 
integrity,  but  he  had  the  power  of  making  it  indubitably 
apparent.     Other  men  might  have  his  general  worth, 
but  he  somehow  manifested  it  in   a  way  to  place  it 
beyond  cavil,  jealousy,  suspicion  or  indifference.     He 
occupied,  what  is  ever  to  be  viewed  as  tlie  greatest  of 
all  earthly  positions,  that  of  a  witness  to  tlie  reaUty 
of    virtue,  and    one   whose    testimony  was    accepted. 
Brethren,  do  we   know  the  greatness  of  this  office  ? 
do  we  recognize  that  which  it  supplies,  as  the  pro- 
foundest  need  of  society  ?  that  which  it  accompUshes 
as  the  most    useful  and    sublime  service  rendered   to 
men    and  communities ?     If  we    ask   ourselves   what 
the  public  is  now  so  gratefully  contemplating  in  the 


15 

memory  of  Jonatlian  Goodhue,  we  find  that  it  is  not 
his  piibHc  services,  not  liis  commercial  importance,  not 
even  his  particular  virtues  and  graces.  It  is  the  man 
himself:  the  pure,  high-minded,  righteous  man,  with 
gentle  and  full  affections,  who  adorned  our  nature, 
who  dignified  the  mercantile  profession,  who  was 
superior  to  his  station,  his  riches,  his  exposures,  and 
made  the  common  virtues  more  respected  and  vene- 
rable than  shining  talents  or  public  honors;  who 
vindicated  the  dignity  of  common  life,  and  carried 
a  high,  large  and  noble  spirit  into  ordinary  affairs; 
who  made  men  recognize  something  inviolable  and 
awful  even  in  the  private  conscience,  and  thus  gave 
sanctity  and  value  to  our  common  humanity !  Yes, 
my  brethren,  this  was  the  power,  this  the  attraction, 
this  the  value  of  Jonathan  Goodhue's  life.  He  has 
made  men  believe  in  virtue.  He  has  made  them 
honor  character  more  than  station  or  wealth !  He 
has  illustrated  the  possible  purity,  disinterestedness, 
and  elevation  of  a  mercantile  life  !  He  has  shown 
that  a  rich  man  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
He  stands  up,  by  acclamation,  as  the  model  of  a 
Christian  Merchant. 

Here  perhaps  I  might  better  pause,  as  having  said 
all  that  needs  to  be  set  forth  on  this  occasion.  But 
you  will  suffer  me  to  dwell  with  a  little  discrimination 
upon  so  interesting  a  subject  of  contemplation.  The 
distinguishing  moral  traits  of  Mr.  Goodhue  were  purity 
of  mind,  conscientiousness,  benevolence,  and  love  of 
freedom.  Perhaps  the  first  was  the  most  striking 
in  a  man  in  his  position.      Originally  endowed  with 


16 

a  sensitive  and  elevated  nature,  and  educated  among 
the  pure  and  good,  he  hrought  to  this  comnmnity,  at 
mature  age,  the  simplicity  and  transparency  of  a  child, 
and  retained  to  the  last  a  manifest  purity  of  heart 
and  imagination.  I  think  no  man  ever  ventured  to 
pollute  his  ear  with  levity  or  coarse  allusion,  or  to 
propose  to  him  any  object  or  scheme  which  involved 
mean  or  selfish  motives.  He  shrank,  with  an  instinc- 
tive disgust,  from  the  foul,  the  low,  the  unworthy ; 
and  compelled  all  to  feel  that  he  was  a  "  vessel  made 
to  honor,"  which  could  admit  no  noisome  or  base 
mixtures  in  its  crystal  depths.  His  purity  of  mind 
was  still  further  evinced  in  the  difficulty  with  which 
he  conceived  of  bad  motives  or  wrong  intentions  in 
others.  He  had  an  unaffected  confidence  in  his 
fellow-creatures,  growing  out  of  his  own  ingenuousness. 
He  was  the  apologist  of  all  men,  seeking  explanations 
of  their  misconduct  which  would  reheve  them  of 
utter  condemnation,  and  often  clinging  to  them  when 
deserted  by  most  others.  It  was  remarked  by  one 
who  enjoyed  his  daily  and  famihar  intercourse,  that 
he  never  heard  him  speak  in  decisive  scorn  of  any 
man  but  in  one  instance.  His  purity  of  mind  mani- 
fested itself  in  tlie  childlike  character  of  his  tastes, 
manners,  and  pleasures.  He  retained  through  life 
the  playfulness  and  the  simplicity  of  a  boy,  and  was 
as  an  equal  among  his  own  children.  His  mmd 
seemed  to  have  no  fuel  for  the  fiercer  passions  of 
manhood.  He  had  no  taste  for  notoriety,  influence, 
social  conspicuousness,  exciting  speculation,  or  brilliant 
success.     His  purity  shrank  from  the  soil  contracted 


17 

in  such  positions  and  pursuits.  And  thus  he  main- 
tained the  equanimity,  elasticity,  and  spontaneous 
cheerfulness  of  his  youth,  even  to  his  latest  days. 

Probably  concientiousness  would  be  first  named, 
by  this  community,  as  Mr.  Goodhue's  characteristic 
quality.  Duty,  I  doubt  not,  was  the  word,  if  not 
oftenest  upon  his  lips,  most  deeply  stamped  upon 
his  heart.  He  was  accustomed  to  refer  his  conduct, 
in  little  and  in  great  things,  to  the  court  of  con- 
science. 

Nor  was  this  sense  of  duty  in  him  the  stem  and 
narrow  principle  it  is  sometimes  seen  to  be,  even  in 
the  good.  He  had  the  nicest  sense  of  justice — a  most 
tender  and  solicitous  regard  for  others'  rights,  and 
was  ever  on  the  watch  to  learn  and  to  fulfil  his 
obligations  in  the  least  particular  to  every  human 
creature.  His  conscientiousness  was  not  more  mani- 
fest in  the  undeviating  rectitude  of  his  mercantile 
and  commercial  career,  than  in  social  and  domestic 
life.  He  was  careful  to  pay  honor  where  honor  is 
due ;  to  lose  no  opportunity  of  manifesting  respect 
for  worth  and  virtue ;  to  avoid  the  least  trifling  with 
the  feelings  or  the  reputation  of  others ;  and  to  give, 
at  all  times,  the  least  possible  trouble  on  his  own 
account.  How  lofty  a  sense  of  honor — how  pure  and 
strict  an  integrity — what  high-minded  principles  he 
carried  with  him  into  business,  you  are  far  better 
able  to  estimate  than  I.  But  if  the  testimony  of  the 
commercial  world  is  to  be  taken,  his  counting-room 
was  to  him  a  sanctuary  in  which  he  offered  the  daily 
sacrifices  of  justice,  truth,  and  righteousness,  and  sent 
up  the  incense  of  obedience  to  that  great  precept, 
3 


18 

"Do  unto  others  as  you  would  that  they  should  do 
unto  you."  It  was  the  pervading  control  and  influence 
of  this  sense  of  duty,  which  enahled  him  to  say  at 
the  very  close  of  his  life :  "I  am  not  conscious  that 
I  have  ever  hrought  evil  on  a  single  human  being." 

And  this  suggests  another  characteristic  of  Mr. 
Goodhue — his  benevolence ;  which,  when  I  mention 
it,  seems,  as  each  of  his  other  traits  docs,  the  most 
striking  of  all.  Kindness  of  heart  was  joined  in 
him  with  purity  of  feeling  and  loftiness  and  rectitude 
of  conscience.  It  did  not  in  him  take  the  form  of 
a  public  philanthropy,  although  for  thirty  years  he 
was  most  assiduous  and  deeply  interested  in  the  duties 
of  a  Trustee  of  the  Savings'  Bank,  and  a  Governor 
of  the  Hospital — offices  which  he  would  not  reUnquish 
even  amid  the  infirmities  of  his  few  past  years,  because 
he  loved  the  intercourse  of  the  sick  and  the  poor. 
His  benevolence  was  rather  a  constant  and  unwearied 
desire  to  make  all  within  his  reach  happy.  He  loved 
his  race.  He  was  uneasy  if  cut  off,  for  ever  so  short 
a  time,  from  the  intercourse  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
The  human  face  was  dear  to  him,  and  his  heart 
overflowed  with  tenderness  and  good-will  towards 
every  creature  that  bore  it.  Perhaps  no  man  in  the 
community  had  a  liveUer  interest  in  man  simply  as 
man.  It  mattered  nothing  what  his  station,  condition, 
faitli,  country,  or  color,  he  loved  his  kind ;  loved  to 
make  the  human  heart  rejoice ;  loved  to  call  up  even 
momentary  feeUngs  of  satisfaction  in  the  breasts  of 
those  with  whom  he  had  only  a  passing  intercourse. 
Who  so  scrupulous  as  he  to  discharge  the  little 
courtesies  of  Hfe  witli  fideUty;  whose  eye  turned  so 


19 

quickly  to  recognize  the  humblest  friend ;  whose  smile 
and  hand  so  ready  to  acknowledge  the  greetings  of 
a  most  extensive  circle  of  acquaintances  ?  I  know 
nothing  of  his  more  substantial  services  to  the  suffering 
and  tlie  needy.  He  was  not  a  man  to  allow  his 
left  hand  to  know  what  his  right  hand  did ;  yet,  who 
can  doubt  that  his  charities  were  as  large  as  his  heart 
and  his  means  ?  But  can  we  over-rate  the  worth 
of  that  beaming  goodness  which  over-leaps  the  barrier 
of  station  and  wealth,  and  makes  for  its  possessor 
a  place  in  the  heart  of  the  humblest  and  most  obscure  1 
Love  creates  love ;  and  the  unbounded  measure  of 
affection  which  this  community  poured  out  to  him, 
shows  how  freely  he  had  given  his  heart  to  his 
fellow  -men !  I  dare  not  speak  of  the  exemplification 
his  benevolence  found  in  the  domestic  circle,  where 
he  knew  how  to  preserve  the  most  manly  dignity, 
while  he  lavished  a  woman's  heart. 

The  love  of  freedom  was  the  most  conspicuous 
mental  trait  in  Mr.  Goodhue.  He  was  the  earnest 
advocate  of  political  freedom,  of  religious  liberty,  and 
of  free-trade.  Possessed  of  a  large  understanding, 
cultivated  by  careful  reading,  and  early  impressed  with 
the  principles  that  moved  our  republican  fathers,  he 
had  exercised  himself  upon  all  the  political,  religious, 
and  commercial  questions  of  his  time,  and  upon  most 
had  worked  himself  out  into  the  largest  liberty  and 
the  clearest  Hght.  By  conscience,  by  heart,  he  was 
the  ardent  supporter  of  human  rights.  He  could  bear 
no  restrictions,  tolerate  no  interference  here.  He  had 
a  full  and    unwavering  confidence  in   the  value  and 


20 

the  permanency  of  our  institutions,  and  was  not 
dismayed  by  any  of  the  discouraging  signs  of  the 
times.  He  believed  fully  in  human  progress,  and 
delighted  in  nothing  so  much  as  in  noticing  or  re- 
counting the  proofs  of  it.  But  his  strongest  feeling  was 
the  importance  and  the  necessity  of  religious  liberty 
and  perfect  toleration.  He  came  to  this  city  before 
the  Unitarian  controversy  had  arisen  at  the  East, 
and  was  an  attendant  for  many  years  upon  Trinity 
Church,  where,  indeed,  he  became  a  Sunday  school 
teacher.  He  was  contented  there,  and  was  not  among 
those  who  started  the  First  Unitarian  congregation 
in  New  York.  It  was  not  till  the  spirit  of  persecution 
arose  in  this  city,  and  he  saw  men  and  opinions  that 
he  knew  to  be  pure,  charged  with  infidelity,  and 
branded  with  social  opprobrium,  that  he  felt  his  spirit 
stirred  within  him.  Then  his  sense  of  duty,  his  strong 
sentiment  of  justice,  his  love  of  ti-uth,  and  his  abhor- 
rence of  intolerance,  all  combined  to  make  him  cast 
in  his  lot  with  a  sect  everywhere  spoken  against.  In 
him  it  was  a  high  act  of  moral  courage,  and  a  triumph 
of  conscience  over  interest  and  inclination,  for  he  was 
connected,  by  marriage,  with  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential families  of  the  dominant  sect  in  this  city,  and 
compelled,  in  the  fulfilment  of  his  duty,  to  forsake  the 
worship  to  which  his  household  adhered ;  a  separation 
which,  to  the  honor  of  all  be  it  known,  never  distilled 
a  drop  of  bitterness  into  his  domestic  cup.  Mr. 
Goodhue  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrines  of 
Unitarianism,  and  rejoiced  in  every  evidence  of  their 
spread ;     but    his    attachment    to    the    principles    of 


21 

religious  liberty  was  still  stronger,  and  he  would 
have  left  us,  as  soon  as  any  other  body  of  Christians, 
had  we  proved  false  to  the  charity  we  avow. 

I  might  speak,  my  brethren,  of  the  simplicity  of 
his  manners,  his  modesty  and  humility,  his  great 
dishke  of  ostentation  in  modes  of  life,  dress,  equipage, 
and  domestic  arrangements.  These  were  the  qualities 
which  made  him  loved  as  well  as  respected.  No  man 
envied  his  success,  or  was  jealous  of  his  honors.  His 
wealth  built  up  no  barrier  between  him  and  his 
fellow-men,  however  humble.  His  circumstances 
however  prosperous,  his  condition  however  elevated, 
did  nothing  to  conceal,  to  distort,  or  to  color  the  image 
of  the  man  himself  He  w^as  manifest  through  all, 
and  appeared  in  his  modest,  simple,  sincere  goodness, 
from  which  none  felt  the  least  provocation  to  detract. 

I  should  wrong  him,  and  the  place,  and  the  office 
I  fill,  did  I  fail  to  say,  that  the  foundation  of  all  that 
was  admirable  in  Mr.  Goodhue's  character,  was  Piety ! 
A  profound  reverence  and  love  for  God  was  the 
central  and  pervading  sentiment  of  his  heart.  This 
was  the  light  and  strength  of  his  conscience.  To 
please  God,  to  render  himself  a  pure  and  acceptable 
offering  in  his  sight,  to  do  his  Maker's  will  on  earth 
as  it  is  done  m  heaven — this  was  the  rule  and  the 
impulse,  and  the  secret  source  of  his  righteous  life. 

If  you  ask  for  the  shades  in  a  character  so  singu- 
larly shining,  perhaps  it  might  be  said  that  Mr. 
Goodhue  valued  the  approbation  of  his  fellow-men 
so  much  as  to  injure  the  decisiveness  of  his  estimates 
of  character,  and  the  frankness  of  his  expressions 
in  regard  to  men  and  measures ;  that  his  cautiousness 


22 

amounted  to  timidity,  and  his  love  of  peace  to  pusil- 
lanimity. He  complained  of  himself  that  he  had  not 
the  courage  to  say  disagreeable  things  when  it  was 
proper  to  do  so,  to  resist  wrong,  and  to  check  en- 
croachment. His  gentleness  and  kindness  of  heart 
affected  his  discrimination  of  character,  while  his 
veneration  for  the  opinions  of  his  early  teachers  in 
politics  and  religion,  gave  his  mind  a  degree  of 
confidence  in  the  sentiments  he  had  received  from 
them,  somewhat  unfavorable  to  progress  or  the  full 
development  of  truth.  He  had,  perhaps,  an  over- 
weening respect  for  his  own  judgment  in  matters 
which  he  had  not  fully  measured  or  exliausted :  a 
fault,  however,  which  never  assumed  the  form  of 
arrogance,  or  affected  his  manners,  though  it  may 
have  narrowed  his  comprehension.  My  brethren,  I 
have  to  go  in  search  of  his  faults  to  give  authority 
to  the  testimony  I  have  borne  to  his  graces;  but 
why  should  I  be  solicitous  to  seem  candid  in  speaking 
of  virtues  which  were  universally  recognized  ? 

In  conclusion,  my  brethren,  I  have  one  witness 
to  produce,  in  confirmation  of  the  testimony  now 
concluded,  whose  integrity,  humility  and  reliableness 
you  are,  at  this  moment,  least  of  all  disposed  to  ques- 
tion— I  mean,  the  subject  of  tliese  observations  himself. 
After  Mr.  Goodhue's  death,  a  letter  was  found,  written 
by  him  only  a  few  months  before,  and  addressed  to 
his  family,  which  forms  such  a  mirror  of  the  man, 
and  contains  so  much  that  is  interesting  and  valuable 
to  us  and  the  community,  that  every  scruple  of  reserve 
has  given  way  before  the  urgency  which  has  sought 
its   publication   on  the  present  occasion.     It   may  be 


23 

considered  as  Mr.  Goodhue's  dying  testament,  as  it  is, 
next  to  his  good  name,  the  most  precious  bequest 
left  to  his  children.  Omitting  such  parts  as  more 
directly  concern  his  immediate  family,  I  shall  now 
proceed  to  lay  this  letter  before  you,  without  comment, 
as  the  appropriate  proof,  enforcement,  and  moral  of 
this  discourse.  The  paper  is  dated  New  York, 
February  7,  1848,  at  his  residence  in  this  city,  and 
is  as  follows : 

"Born  on  the  21st  of  June,  1783,  I  am  now  well 
advanced  on  my  65th  year.  This  fact  of  itself  would 
remind  me  that  the  end  cannot  probably  be  very  far 
off.  But  besides,  I  have,  for  about  two  years  past, 
occasionally  found  an  opression  on  the  chest,  on 
moving  quickly,  which  seems  to  indicate  some  de- 
rangement in  the  action  of  the  heart,  and  this  difficulty 
I  think  has  materially  increased  within  a  few  weeks. 
Wishing  to  offer  some  observations  for  the  use  of  my 
family,  should  I  be  suddenly  removed  from  them,  I 
have  set  down  the  thoughts  that  occur  to  me. 

"  First,  then,  I  thank  Heaven,  that  my  lot  has  been 
cast  in  this  age,  and  in  this  land.  I  say  in  this  age, 
for  although  the  evils  that  exist  are  abundant,  yet  I 
think  there  has  been  great  gain  in  the  general  recog- 
nition among  a  numerous  portion  of  the  intelligent 
part  of  society,  of  the  importance  of  the  great  princi- 
ples of  Peace,  Temperance,  and  respect  for  the  rights 
of  others.  And  in  my  own  country  these  principles 
are  more  prevalent,  I  think,  than  in  any  other;  and 
there  is,  moreover,  I  think,  this  further  encouraging 
view — that     they    aye    constantly    making     progress 


24 

throughout  the  community.  I  take  this  view  also— 
that  the  conditions  which  go  to  giving  a  man  the 
consideration  and  esteem  of  his  fellow-creatures,  to 
which  we  all  justly  attach  a  value,  have  more  refer- 
ence to  the  essentials  of  character,  as  intelligence 
and  virtue,  and  more  independence  of  the  extraneous 
circumstances  of  official  position,  family  connexion, 
or  great  wealth.  The  advantages  of  these  accidents 
are  of  no  comparable  importance  here  with  what 
they  are  in  the  other  countries  of  the  world ;  and 
tlius  temptations  to  draw  men  aside  from  the  course 
of  virtuous  life,  are  accordingly  so  much  the  less 
dangerous." 

After  expressing  his  gratitude  for  tlie  blessings  of 
his  domestic  ties,  and  the  happiness  of  his  home,  he 
says : 

"In  those  in  whom  my  happiness  is  more  imme- 
diately concerned,  what  equivalent  could  there  be 
for  a  departure  from  a  Hfe  of  uprightness." 

And  then  continues: 

"In  looking  back  on  my  own  course  of  life,  I 
have  abundant  cause  for  thankfulness;  for  while 
desiring  humbly  to  acknowledge  the  insufficiency  of 
my  own  merits,  yet  have  I  great  reason  to  rejoice 
that,  growing  up  under  the  influence  of  the  good 
and  the  pure,  I  have  escaped  many  evils  where 
others  have  been  less  fortunate.  I  have  often  men- 
tioned that,  among  my  associates  in  my  native  town, 
(Salem,)   I   scarcely  ever  heard   a  profane  word. 


25 

"  I    ought   to   account   it   another   circumstance    of 
thankfuhiess,  that  I  had  the  advantage,  in  early  Hfe, 
of    imbibing    and   cuhivating    sentiments   of    perfect 
toleration   and   charity   for   the   religious    opinions   of 
others,  so  that  I  have  never  for  a   moment  felt  the 
slightest  restraint  in  cherishing   all  good-will  towards 
the  worthy  and  good,   of  whatever  sect   or  denomi- 
nation   they   might   be.      At   an    early  period  of  my 
hfe    I  was  thrown,  for  several  months,  exclusively  into 
the  society  of  Mahometans  and  Brahmins,  and  there 
were  many  among  them  with  whom  a  mutual  regard 
subsisted.     Mere  opinion,  if  squaring   even  with  my 
own  notions  of  truth,  I  have  ever  considered  as  far 
less  important  than  right  motives.     I  wish  to  cherish 
the  most  devout  reverence  for  the  Great,  Omnipotent, 
Omnipresent,    and    Perfect    Being,    the    Great   First 
Cause,  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  Universe — our 
Father,    Preserver,    and    Benefactor ;    and    to    keep 
habitually  in   view  the   obligations   I   owe   to   him  of 
perfect  obedience  in   all   things.      What  these   duties 
are,   I  think  are  more  plainly  shown  in  the  life  and 
precepts  of  the  Great  Teacher,  and  I  wish  accord- 
ingly  to    set   all   value    upon    them.     These   he    has 
said  are  essentially,  love  to  God,  and  love  to  man." 
"  In  reference  to  the  style  of  living,  I  wish  to  advise 
my    children    against    everything    like     extravagance, 
however  much  they  may  happen  to  be  favored  with 
the  means  of  indulgence.     Things  comfortable,  if  they 
can    afford    it,   I   would   not  withhold;   but  I  should 
consider  it  a  rule  never  to  be  departed  from,  that  so  far 
as   display   should   be    the   object,  they   should  never 
exceed  in  the  slightest  degree,  the  rule  which  should 
4 


26 

prevail  among  the  wise  and  the  prudent.  An  infinitely 
more  deserving  object  of  their  regard,  in  the  bestow- 
ment  of  superfluous  means  should  be,  I  think,  the  aiding 
of  the  great  cause  of  learning  and  science.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  tendency  of  society  is  to  lessen  the 
distinctions  of  rank  as  regards  the  accidents  of  birth 
and  station,  and  that  the  great  principle  of  equality  is  to 
make  progress  in  the  world — and  when  growing  out  of 
a  high  civiHzation,  it  is  to  be  hailed  with  all  welcome. 
The  overthrow  of  almost  any  of  the  institutions  of 
society,  in  any  country,  by  violence,  I  should  be 
disposed  to  deprecate,  and  I  am  disposed  to  abhor 
revolutions,  but  to  cherish  reformation  everywhere. 

"In  reference  to  the  closing  scene  in  this  world,  I 
wish  to  express  my  desire  that  there  be  no  parade 
connected  with  the  funeral  performances.  It  would 
be  my  desire,  tliat  none  but  the  immediate  relatives 
and  friends  should  be  called  together  when  the  usual 
religious  services  should  be  performed,  and  that  not 
more  than  a  single  carriage  should  follow  the  hearse 
to  the  cemetery." 

After  bidding  adieu  to  his  family,  with  a  particular 
reference  to  every  individual  having  any  claim  upon 
his  recollection  at  such  a  solemn  moment,  he  concludes 
with  these  words : 

"  I  pray  Heaven  to  receive  my  parting  spirit." 

(Signed)  "Jonathan  Goodhue." 

In  a  postscript  is  appended  the  following  pregnant 
after- thought : 

"  I  add,  as  a  most  happy  reflection,  that  I  am  not 


27 

conscious  that  I  have  ever  brought  evil  on  a  single 
human  being." 

Brethren,  I  have  thus  imperfectly,  but  truthfully  set 
forth  this  example  of  a  Christian  Merchant,  especially 
addressed  to  you  as  business  men,  in  the  hope  that  it 
may  win  your  serious  and  profound  attention,  and  with 
the  prayer  that  through  its  contemplation,  the  words  of 
the  text  may  be  verified :  "  That  thou  mayest  walk  in 
the  way  of  good  men,  and  keep  the  paths  of  the 
righteous." 


UCSB    LIBKARY 


A    000  999  318    9 


University  of  Caiifornia 

SOUTHERN  REGiONAL  LiBRARY  FACiLITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parl(ing  Lot  17  •  Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALiFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  whicti  it  was  borrowed. 


^ 


Univers] 

Soutt 

Libi 

1 


